Govt committed to foremost place for Buddhism, while assuring rights of all faiths: PM

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday assured the House that no steps will be taken to amend Article 9 of the Constitution, which has assured the foremost place and the duty of the State to protect and foster Buddha Sasana, while assuring the rights granted to all other religions by Article 10 and 14 (1) (e ) of the Constitution.

He also rejected the attempts to amend Article 9 in the new Constitution-making process which is now underway. He explained that what are available are summaries of different proposals that had been placed before the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee has not come up with any draft. No draft of a Constitution was published.

He said: ‘As long as I hold the position of Chairman of the Steering Committee, Article 9 will not be amended.”